If you have a degree qualification in Optometry from the UK, do you have to requalify when you get to Canada?

Would it be best to wait until you got to Canada?

Thanks

The Canadian Association of Optometrists has a website, amazingly enough.

There's also, somewhere, on the CIC website a list of regulated professions. Worth a look through.

Second point: the law may say one thing, but the employment market another. If you can practise, will your foreign degree give enough confidence for someone to employ you? I'd check with the above association - it's also a good opportunity to network. Why not call a few opticians where you intend to live and ask them?

Just a "bridging" program, not requalification - http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/iobp/ .

No idea about costs but be aware that if you were to do optometry in Canada, you require 3yrs biomed before you can even start the course :scared:

Hi,

I'm a UK Optometrist who's just applied for a skilled worker visa, and I have an old work acquaintance who's just moved to Ottawa from the UK and begun practising there.

To qualify (I don't know about other provinces but definitely ON) you need to do the Uni of Waterloo Bridging Programme as Biiink said.

You don't say whether you've done the PQE in the UK - I think you need to be registered to practice here to do the Bridging Programme; if you've got your Optometry degree but not qualified I don't know whether you might have to do the whole course in Canada?

Apparently for the Bridging Programme you have to attend for an assessment to work out what your skill level is, and you are then put on the course for either a month or a year depending on how well you do. I was reassured it shouldn't be too hard to get on to the month's course providing you're reasonably up-to-date here.

The month's course is split into 2 weeks academic and 2 weeks in a practice. After that you take the Canadian exams, equivalent to our PQE.

I gather the whole thing isn't cheap maybe about £3000 (or $3000, can't remember!) so get saving!

If you want any further info here's the link to the programme:

http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/iobp/index.html

Hope that helps, if you want to PM me it might be nice to speak to someone in the same boat!